Tender rolls filled with slightly tangy fresh cranberries & topped with a sweet drizzle. They’re the perfect holiday breakfast treat & barely 125 calories!
Today’s post is sponsored by Got Milk?. The milk in the dough helps make these sweet rolls so tender, and a cold glass of milk is a wonderful refreshing, protein-packed accompaniment to this sweet breakfast treat!
My family’s first house sat about half a mile away from the best donut shop in town, a small mom-and-pop establishment with red vinyl booths and small nostalgic patterned serving plates. In the mornings, the line snaked out the door and into the parking lot beyond while patrons picked out their favorite cake donuts from the display case.
The best part about the store, other than its close location, was how the owners treated children. My brother and I would stare at the rows of donuts, carefully considering our options, before pointing to the exact pastry we wanted with the most rainbow sprinkles or thickest amount of frosting. Every time, the owners would maneuver their tongs to pull out that same donut, even if it lay the furthest away from them in the case.
During the holiday season, we walked over with one of our parents nearly every weekend for a “special occasion” donut breakfast. Little did we know that the other parent was sneaking in a little Christmas shopping without us!
When we arrived at the shop, my brother and I almost always selected one of the same donuts every time: a small frosted cake donut topped with gazillions of sprinkles, a cinnamon sugar-coated crumb donut, or a chocolate frosted twist. Our parents gravitated towards the “adult” classics with their choices, like old-fashioneds or bear claws or apple fritters. Sometimes they even selected other pastries, like cinnamon rolls or fruit-filled Danishes.
Regardless of the pastries that we all selected, our parents almost always purchased a little carton of milk for both of us kids to drink alongside our donuts. It was their idea of a good compromise: we were happy with our sweet treats, and they were happy that we consumed a healthier, protein-packed beverage.
And now, whenever I bake special breakfast treats during the holiday season, I still think about those donut-and-milk mornings from my childhood. When my family recently sat around the table one weekend for brunch with glasses of milk and a pan of these Whole Wheat Cranberry Sweet Rolls, it brought back those memories—which somehow managed to make these disappear even faster!
Have you baked with yeast before? I promise it isn’t hard or scary! Yeast is simply the ingredient that makes the rolls rise. In muffins and cupcakes, baking powder and baking soda react with acid to create air bubbles and make those treats rise. Yeast reacts with warm liquid and sugar to do the same thing. That’s all there is too it!
So to start the dough, you’ll mix the yeast with a tiny bit of melted butter, warm milk, coconut sugar, and salt. Let all of that sit for about 15 minutes until the yeast has proofed and turned frothy. Watch my video below to see what it should look like! Then you’ll mix in whole wheat flour before kneading the dough.
When rolling out the dough, aim for a large rectangle about 14×10” in size. It doesn’t have to be perfect! Mine rarely is, but nobody will ever know after you roll up the dough and stick the treats in the pan.
And now for the filling! It’s made from fresh cranberries mixed with a little coconut sugar and salt. We prefer cranberry treats that still taste slightly tart and tangy, but this recipe won’t make your mouth pucker! It has the perfect amount sweetness from that coconut sugar and the drizzle on top.
Tip: To quickly chop the cranberries, use a food processor! If there are any larger pieces left, simply cut those by hand.
When spreading the filling, remember to leave a 1” border on both of the longer sides of the dough rectangle. This makes rolling up the dough easier and allows you to pinch the edges together to seal in the filling. Then watch my video below for my secret trick on how to slice perfectly round sweet rolls!
These sweet rolls only require about 30 minutes to rise, which means you get to eat them that much sooner! While they bake, prepare the drizzle with confectioner’s style stevia and a little splash of milk. Stevia is a no-calorie, plant-based sweetener, and this is the type that I used in this recipe.
And of course, don’t forget a tall glass of milk as the perfect complement to go with them!
| Whole Wheat Cranberry Sweet Rolls | 5.0 from 1 reviews |
Yields: 12 sweet rolls
These sweet rolls are perfect for the holiday season! The slightly sweet, slightly tangy fresh cranberry filling pairs perfectly with the tender rolls and drizzle on top. Leftovers will keep for at least 4 days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- for the filling
- 2 cups (220g) fresh cranberries, chopped
- 2 tbsp (24g) coconut sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- for the dough
- ¾ cup (180mL) warm nonfat milk (about 100-110°F)
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 2 tbsp (24g) coconut sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 ¼ tsp (one ¼-oz package) active dry yeast
- 2 – 2 ½ cups (240-300g) whole wheat flour
- for the drizzle
- 10 tsp confectioners’ style stevia
- 2 tsp nonfat milk
- Lightly coat a 9”-round springform pan or cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- To prepare the filling, toss together the cranberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined.
- To prepare the dough, stir together the milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top, and wait 10-15 minutes or until the mixture turns frothy. Mix in 1 ½ cups of flour. If the dough is still wet, continue stirring in flour 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead for 3-5 minutes or until the dough springs back most of the way when you gently press your index finger into it. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- On a clean, well-floured surface, roll the dough out into a 14x10” rectangle. Spread the filling on top of the dough, leaving a 1” border on the two longer sides. Carefully roll up the dough into a log, starting at one long edge and rolling towards the other one. Pinch the ends to seal. If the dough won’t stick together, gently brush the second longer edge with water before pinching to seal.
- Slice the log into 12 pieces using dental floss or a sharp serrated knife. Place the rolls into the prepared pan, and cover the pan with a clean towel. Set the pan in a warm, draft-free spot, and let the rolls rise for 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 18-22 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the sides feel firm. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before serving.
- While the rolls cool, prepare the drizzle. Stir together the stevia and milk in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to a zip-topped bag, snip off a small corner, and drizzle on top of the rolls just before serving.
Notes: Brown sugar may be substituted in place of the coconut sugar, but the rolls will no longer be clean-eating friendly.
Regular active dry yeast, quick rise yeast, and bread machine yeast will all work.
Frozen and thawed cranberries may be substituted in place of the fresh.
For more tips on kneading the dough and slicing the cinnamon rolls, watch my video above the recipe.
{clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
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Today’s recipe is brought to you in collaboration with Got Milk? Food Loves Milk. As always, all text, opinions, photos, and recipe are my own.
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